Tripping over the Truth: How the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Is Overturning One of Medicine's Most Entrenched Paradigms

This is a must read for those interested in cancer.The author uses a historical framework to explain the science, and makes a strong case for cancer as a metabolic disease (as contrasted to a genetic one). More importantly, cures are to come from studies of metabolism, rather than from narrowly targeted treatments aimed as particular mutations.The treatment is historical, telling the story through the great researchers and their findings, using their stories to explain the science. This makes the book very readable. Telling these stories is not necessary to understanding the science, but it may be necessary to understanding why, and when it was accepted.After running through various historical figures, such as Warburg (who got his Nobel prize for demonstrating the metabolic abnormality of cancer), the story moves to various interesting modern figures.By page 93, he reaches the research in Pedersen's lab at John Hopkins University, and the story of the bright Korean biochemist, Young He Ko. She discovers that a simple chemical, 3-bromopyruvate, kills cancer cells better and quicker than most chemotherapy drugs. She achieves the almost unprecedented feat of curing cancers in all of 19 rats, who remain free of their original cancers to the end of their natural life.One would expect to learn how she got a professorship, fame, and lots of research money. Instead, the academic politics at John Hopkins results in her being terminated, and a law suit, leaving the breakthrough unexploited. (Some believe that this will provide the plot for a movie, and speculate as to which actress should play Dr. Ko). For now, it just makes part of the book read like a novel.There is drama (starting on p. 109) when the father of a teenager near death from liver cancer hears of the new drug, and obtains approval for it to be administered in Germany (approved only because it was his only hope of evading his impending death). The unemployed biochemist travels there, and waits nervously while the first human receives it. He was being kept alive by tube feeding. There are no serious side effects, and he asks to eat. The outcome is that instead of not surviving to his 17th birthday as the doctor's predicted, he recovers enough to go to John Hopkins Medical school to lecture, reaches his 18th birthday (a party which the still unemployed Dr. Ko attends). Alas, he eventually dies from an unrelated pneumonia, but the drug had achieved a "miraculous" cure. Heart breaking drama here.The story then moves on to the cutting edge research on the genetics of cancer, and how when the genomes of various tumors were sequenced, there was found there was no pattern to the mutations, creating an embarrassment for those whose careers had been based on the genetic theory of cancer.Naturally those who had dedicated their career to cancer as a genetic disease were disappointed, and elaborate new theories, but several of the leaders have shifted their focus to metabolism. Although it is easy to say the hundreds of millions spend on genetic research was wasted, it was something that should have been done, and it appears we now know approaches that do not work.As a subplot (p152) is the story of James Watson (whose Nobel prize was for discovering the genetic code) and his shift from emphasis on genetics (which naturally served his self interest), to efforts to get the Ko formulation, and him expressing support for the metabolic theory (when famous geneticists abandon the genetic theory, it is more convincing).The story moves on to Dr. Seyfried (p. 167) and how he drifts into cancer research on discovering that starving mice slowed tumor growth, and a drug that seemed effective against cancer actually seemed to work by stopping the mice from eating as much (the control mice not given the drug died much quicker, but control mice restricted to eating only as much as the treated mice chose to eat, did just as well).This resulted in the publication of a path breaking book, The Metabolic Theory of Cancer. " While this is a very good book, and a must read for professional cancer researchers, the biochemistry is tough for non-professionals. For laymen, one can get an understanding from "Tripping over the Truth" with much less work.Even the professional may find that the historical narrative of this book makes it easier to understand Seyfried's book (Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: On the Origin, Management, and Prevention of Cancer), with much less work, and without being lost in the details. Such reader's may wish to skip the first two parts, which provide historical and scientific background).Christofferson's book is cheaper, slightly more up to date (in a field that is moving fast, partially due to Seyfried's recent book), and more fun to read. After reading Christoffer's account of how Seyfried came to write his book, and what he found, the professionals will be motivated to read the more technical book written by the great scientist himself.Dr. Seyfried explores ketones as the explanation for why calorie restriction works, and shows that a ketogenic diet can be effective (at least in mice). The story moves on to the history ketogenic diets, and to a Florida researcher, D'gostino (p.211), who gets good results in mice from such a diet, especially when combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.Small scale human tests of ketogenic diets for brain cancers begin (p. 196) and produce encouraging results.Since many reading this review will be those suffering from cancer, what are the conclusions for such patients The first is the high potential of 3-bromopyruvate. Patients should not rush out and try to get this and treat themselves. If incorrectly formulated, it could be fatal. However, they should keep their eyes open for trials (which are overdue, but virtually certain to come). Those with advance, metastatic cancer should try to be included, even if this requires traveling overseas, and paying their own expenses.The preliminary evidence is that a ketogenic diet is beneficial, and the book includes an appendix on "Putting Metabolic Therapy to Work". If I was dying from cancer, I would certainly try this.What are the weak points in the book?One is that it lacks an index (so those interested in a particular topic can find it). Even the chapter headings and table of contents are non-informative. This is why I mentioned page numbers above.While it has a list of sources in the back, it is not as well documented as a researcher would want. Fortunately, more can be found in Seyfried's book.It is clear from the sources he gives, that much of his information derives from traveling around the country interviewing the researchers themselves. This permits him to provide the background that makes the book so readable (even novel like). A benefit of these interviews is that he sometimes mentions results that have not yet been written up and published. This could be valuable to researchers and funders wanting to know what is going on in a fast moving field.Those interested in the history and politics of science will enjoy the stories of the researchers, and how what should have been obvious leads and inconsistencies were not followed up on. It also becomes clear how problems of funding, human egos and ambitions, and desire not to confess to having wasting time on exploring a blind alley (even though this may keep others from wasting time by going down the same blind alley) has impeded research. Possible cures that are hard to make money from such as 3-bromopyruvate (a known chemical that cannot be patented) and nutritional approaches are not as promptly followed up on as those that can result in a highly profitable drug of marginal use (and he points just how marginal many of the hyped drugs are).Those in funding positions (government, foundations, and those with money to donate) would benefit from reading this book and thinking about the implications. Drug companies naturally would like funding decisions that lead to new drugs them to patent and market, and research that shows the utility of their products (and lobby for such). However, much higher returns should result from research private firms are unlikely to pursue, research on unpatentable molecules like 3-bromopyruvate, and nutritional therapies.

Tripping Over the Truth: The Return of the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Illuminates a New and Hopeful Path to a Cure by Travis Christofferson is a surprisingly interesting collection of stories about the history and findings of cancer research.One of the stories in the book is about Dr. Warburg who in 1924 discovered that cancer cells can only live on glycogen (sugar) and later that cancer cells have fewer mitochondria than healthy cells. Dr. Warburg’s extraordinary brilliance, his personal sacrifices to contribute to understanding cancer, and the dedication of his students make the story an inspiring read.The book describes three shocking revelations from recent discoveries made at the multinational Cancer Genome Atlas project funded by the National Cancer Institute, started in 2006.First: most cancers are not caused by genetic damage to the DNA, which mainstream medicine believes (except Dr. Warburg and his students) to be the primary cause of cancer since the discovery of DNA in the 1950s.Second: the body does a remarkably good job of repairing DNA; most cancer cells have far less DNA damage than anyone realized, which completely destroyed the accepted model of cancer known as the “Somatic Theory of Cancer“.Third: tumors are rarely comprised of just one type of cancer cell and instead consist of thousands of genetically different cancer cells. This explains why cancer growths are so resistance to chemotherapy and radiation. Cancer growths with thousands of versions of DNA are far more likely to survive compared to a mass of cells with duplicate DNA. Sadly, it also explains why if cancer returns it is much harder to treat; the cancer cells that survived initial treatments are not affected by the same subsequent treatments.The book describes a discovery in 1978 that strongly pointed to cell mitochondria damage being the cause of cancer. Cancer researcher Cyril Darlington found that x-rays with enough energy to damage the DNA in the nucleus did not cause cancer, yet when the energy in x-rays was increased enough to damage cell mitochondria, it did cause cancer. Sadly this research was totally ignored until Thomas Seyfried wrote his landmark book in 2012 “Cancer as a metabolic disease”. Mitochondria controls cellular growth rates, apoptosis (programmed cellular death), and intracellular communications. When the mitochondria of cells are damaged, it causes rapid cell replication (from days to hours), the cells become immortal and never die, and they tell nearby cells to redirect the blood flow to support their rapid growth.One of the strangest discoveries the book describes is when the cell’s mitochondria is damaged, it sends an emergency message (known as a “retrograde response”) to the cell’s nucleus. The nucleus attempts to help the mitochondria by sending it pieces of DNA to help it survive without oxygen. These pieces of DNA activate some cell functions like high-growth, and deactivate other functions like DNA repair which can create and replicate cancer cells. Ironically, these changes can also damage the DNA of the cell nucleus because it is no longer being repaired. Cancer researchers who thought the DNA damage was the cause of cancer didn’t realize it was just a side effect of mitochondria damage.One disturbing fact is that despite the number of smokers being cut by 50% in the last 40 years, cancer incidence is going up as is cancer mortality. In fact, the mortality rates are increasing so fast that the author predicts cancer will soon take over heart disease as the number one cause of death. This contradicts what I had been hearing from the media, about most cancers having effective cures and that a cure to all cancers was very close.Despite the bad news, the author has a positive view of future cancer treatment because of an experimental diet that promotes low blood sugar. The diet basically consists of no sugar, very low carbohydrates, limited protein, and huge amounts of saturated fat. This diet is known as the ketogenic diet. There are several trials going on around the world and there have been some extraordinary results with many people surviving previously incurable forms of cancer.I find it exciting to think that a diet could be the cure to cancer.Imagine getting diagnosed with cancer and instead of surgery, radiation treatment, and chemo therapy, the doctor just makes you an appointment with a dietician. I highly recommend this book, five stars.